By Sukuoluhle Ndlovu
Masvingo – Debt owners to the Masvingo City Council continue to cripple down the council’s operations and failure to fully deliver services to residents.
The Council is owed ZWL$380,121,900.65 as at 30June 2021 which is a rise from opening balance of ZWL$ 155,281,076.06.
This came out in the MCC 2021 Half Year Budget review which was released this year.
In a pie chart drawn in the 2021 budget review; the biggest debtors being residents who owe the council 42%, while Institutional are the second owning the council 32% and lastly commercial owning council 26%.
The continued ballooning of debtors limits the council’s capacity to deliver its obligations to the residents.
The review stated that delayed collection of revenue is negatively affecting service delivery as the council loses out on the purchasing power of the money as the economy experiences inflationary pressures. The council’s ability to invest in infrastructure and equipment is curtailed while maintenance of infrastructure also suffers.
Council has engaged with their major debtors to enhance revenue collection.
“Council has endeavoured to enhance revenue collection with engagements with major debtors such as Government institutions and discrimination of services intensified. Engagement with individual debtors has also been intensified seeing the number of debtors enlisted on payment plans to rise to over 1,400. Council has also enlisted the services of two law firms to assist in the collection of delinquent debt and screening of lists for handover to these law firms in progress.”
Most properties are going for more than two months after disconnection of water services. This scenario might imply water theft at those properties, or they are living in unhygienic environments, and we are intensifying follow ups on such properties in order to ensure adherence to the city’s by laws.
The MCC also has a credit to its various suppliers and service providers amounting to ZWL$51 million as at 30June 2021. The council owes the Local Authorities Pension Fund ZWL$17.7million and ZWL$12.6million to ZETDC. The continued failure by the council to raise revenue continues to be an obstacle and failure to pay off.
